Big firms can afford higher wages, says report

Large firms in industries such as construction, banking and computing can afford to pay well above the national minimum wage, a new report argues.

Two think tanks said more than six million people earned below the living wage, which is set at £8.30 an hour in London and £7.20 elsewhere, compared with the statutory rate of £6.08.

The Resolution Foundation and the IPPR said big companies in many sectors of the economy would only face a 1 per cent increase or less in their pay bill if they switched to a living wage. More than 600,000 people worked for less than the living wage in banking, finance, insurance and real estate, another 600,000 in manufacturing, 260,000 in transport and computing and 180,000 in construction.